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New Exalted Marches
Antivan Crows Andrastian Chantry * Circle of Magi * Templar Order Free Marches * Starkhaven * Kirkwall Orlais Rivain Felicisima Armada Tevinter Imperium Imperial Chantry * Imperial Templar Order |Belligerent2 = Qunari * Antaam * Tamassrans ** Ben-Hassrath * Viddathari |Commanders1 = Emperor Freyan Emperor Etienne I Ser Michel Lafaille Teyrn of Ostwick Raider captains Archon Nomaran Hortensia III |Commanders2 = Arishok * Arvaarads * Stens Arigena Ariqun }} The New Exalted Marches were the armed conflicts that engulfed the majority of Thedas across Steel Age and Storm Age. The First Qunari War In 6:30 Steel a race of white-haired, bronze-skinned giants previously unknown to Thedosians – called Qunari – landed on the shores of Par Vollen, which loosely belonged to the Tevinter Imperium at the time. With their heavily armored and trained warriors and powerful cannons, the Qunari quickly and decisively conquered the native people of the region. From the survivors, the Qunari reeducated many to their philosophy the Qun. Those who refused to cooperate disappeared to mines or construction camps.Codex entry: Par Vollen: The Occupied North Word of Qunari invasion didn't reach the rest of Thedas until 6:32 Steel when the Qunari invasion began as their ships berth in great numbers at the coasts of Seheron and northern Rivain. The conflict became known as the First Qunari War, one of many Qunari Wars to follow. Conquest of the north Within two years the invaders spread to Antiva, and captured Treviso in 6:34 Steel as the Qunari's initial advances were great. After they had conquered much of the Tevinter Imperium, Rivain, and Antiva; the Qunari began to assault the Free Marches far to the south of the Imperium, only ten years into the invasion. Only Minrathous itself remained besieged but unconquered in the north.Dragon Age: Origins: Prima Official Game Guide The invading Qunari did not kill their prisoners, but instead converted the defeated to their rigoristic Qun. All the successful converts became Qunari and fueled their ranks. Liberation of the north By 6:85 Steel, 55 years after the Qunari had been first seen in Thedas, the humans had organized themselves and pushed back. Humans rebelled from Qunari captivity all over the Tevinter Imperium, and the Qunari's hold began to loosen. The war continued for the rest of the century, and into the next one. After nearly a quarter of a century, in 7:23 Storm, the Qunari were pushed back to Seheron and Rivain, but still held on to those regions tightly. The Battle of the Nocen Sea was the largest naval engagement in history and resulted in a stalemate and the destruction of many ships on both sides. With both sides exhausted, an impasse began. The Three Exalted Marches In the year 7:24 Storm, the Andrastian Chantry and Imperial Chantry were desperate enough to work together for the first time since the schism to take down the threat to both organizations. They declared the New Exalted Marches against the Qunari – to retake Rivain for the Chantry, and Seheron and Qarinus for Tevinter. The first New Exalted March in 7:25 Storm proved successful. The Circle of Magi proved to be a great boon for the Chantry-led forces as they were able to effectively counter the Qunari's technology with their magic. Year by year, the Chantry was able to push further and further into the Qunari lines, although local converts to the Qun proved difficult to return to Andraste's teachings. Many Qunari artifacts were plundered at this time, including the Tome of Koslun which was taken by Orlais as a spoil of war. However, the second New Exalted March that took place 27 years later in 7:52 Storm was a disaster. The Qunari countered by recapturing much of Antiva. During the same year, Treviso is burned by the liberating armies of the White and Black Divines.Codex entry: A Vessel of Tears A female Ben-Hassrath enforcer known only as "the Hawk" emerged as a legend throughout the course of these conflicts, and is credited with over a hundred kills with only a bow.Bow of the Beresaad description In 7:55 Storm, a third and final Exalted March was called. The nations of Thedas found themselves in dire need of every ship they could muster against the massive power of the Qunari dreadnaughts. The Llomerryn pirates were faced with a hard decision: band together under one flag and fight with those they had previously preyed upon or face conversion and annihilation by the Qunari. Thus the Felicisima Armada was formed at 7:55 Storm. In 7:56 Storm, the Qunari landed near Ostwick and launched assaults against Starkhaven and Kirkwall. Starkhaven prevailed, but Kirkwall fell due to the magic of the Saarebas. The city remained under Qunari power until Orlesian Chevalier Ser Michel Lafaille liberated Kirkwall in 7:60 Storm. He found that most of the population had converted to the Qun. Kirkwall was incorporated into the Orlesian Empire, and Lafaille became the ruler of the city, named Viscount by the Orlesian emperor.Codex entry: History of Kirkwall: Chapter 3 The Felicisima Armada meanwhile had been using their stealth and trickery to plague Qunari supply lines. They have even launched several seaborne invasions against the Qunari coast. At 7:78 Storm the raiders managed to defeat the Qunari in a massive naval battle and then take Estwatch from them, an island with strategic importance. The Third Exalted March was the most brutal of all. By this time, the war had drained the resources of every nation in Thedas, leaving most on the brink of collapse. For the giants, it did not appear to be the damage to their armada or the loss of their soldiers, but the terrible toll upon the Rivaini population that prompted their retreat. The Third New Exalted March had all but massacred the people of Kont-aar: their last remaining stronghold left on the continent , and all the while without even chipping the Qunari occupying force. For the sake of Kont-aar, the giants finally agreed to withdraw.Codex entry: The Llomerryn Accords The Exalted March ended in 7:84 Storm. A meeting between envoys of all the human lands (except for Tevinter) and the Qunari at Llomerryn results in the signing of the Llomerryn Accord and peace being declared. The Qunari agreed to end all hostilities with all nations under the accord and returned to Par Vollen which was ceded to them. Peace treaty By then, rebuilding all the destruction caused was considered more important than trying to dislodge the Qunari from Kont-aar once again. The Llomeryn Accords dictates that the Qunari would receive the northern archipelago in exchange for cessation of hostilities against all the nations on the accord. Only Tevinter refused to sign, and so the war continues to rage in the Imperium to the present day. Seheron for example, still remains a place of contested conflict between the Qunari and the Tevinter Imperium. Peace was not established between the Tevinter Imperium and the Qunari, but skirmishes were few while the Qunari pulled back to Par Vollen and regrouped. It's worth noting, however, that the Kingdom of Rivain immediately violated the treaty. Twice. Once, when the humans of northern Rivain—nearly all practitioners of the Qun and therefore by definition, "Qunari"—refused to leave their homes and go in exile to the islands. And again, when the Rivain Chantry and nationalist forces, unable to convert its people back to the worship of the Maker, tried a purge by the sword, slaughtering countless unarmed people and burying them in mass graves. For whatever reason, the leaders in Kont-aar did not alert their allies in the Northern Passage of these attacks. References Category:Qunari lore